docs.gitlab.com release 17.11 (April, 2025)

Tasks for all releases

Documentation for handling the docs release is available.

Terminology

The following terms are used throughout this document:

  • Stable branch: This is the branch that matches the GitLab version being released. For example, for GitLab 17.2, the stable branch is 17.2.

On Monday the week of the release

  1. Ensure required tools are installed and up-to-date. In the root path of the docs-gitlab-com repository:

    • Update your local clone:

      make update

    • Install and update all project dependencies:

      make setup

    • Ensure you're authenticated with glab:

      $ glab auth status

gitlab.com
✓ Logged in to gitlab.com as <username> (<$HOME>/.config/glab-cli/config.yml)
✓ Git operations for gitlab.com configured to use ssh protocol.
✓ API calls for gitlab.com are made over https protocol.
✓ REST API Endpoint: https://gitlab.com/api/v4/
✓ GraphQL Endpoint: https://gitlab.com/api/graphql/
✓ Token: **************************

  2. Cross-link to the main MR for the release post: gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com!138818 (merged)

  3. In this issue, create separate threads for the retrospective, and add items as they appear:

    ## :+1: What went well this release?
## :-1: What didn't go well this release?
## :chart_with_upwards_trend: What can we improve going forward?

  4. Add the version to be removed from the version dropdown list to the docs archives (gitlab-docs-archives) repository:

    make create-archive-branch

    Do NOT create a merge request. After a couple of minutes, the version will be deployed. You can visit https://archives.docs.gitlab.com/17.9 and verify.

On the Thursday of the release, or the day after

After the release post is live, or the day after:

  1. In the root path of the docs-gitlab-com repository, use the create-stable-branch Make target to create the stable branch:

    make create-stable-branch VERSION=17.11
    • You can track the progress of the stable branch pipeline from the pipelines list.
    • When the stable branch pipeline completes, the new version will be available at https://docs.gitlab.com/17.11. Verify that the new release is functional, then proceed to the next step.

  2. In the root path of the docs-gitlab-com repository, use the create-release-merge-request Make target to create the release merge request. This merge request updates the version dropdown list for all online versions:

     make create-release-merge-request VERSION=17.11
    1. Verify that the merge request:
      • Has the release label.
      • Includes only the following in the Changes tab:
        • .gitlab/ci/docker-images.gitlab-ci.yml
        • content/versions.json

  3. Ask in Slack in #tw-team for someone to review and merge the release merge request for you.

  4. After the deployment completes, open docs.gitlab.com in a browser. Confirm both the latest version and the correct pre-release version are listed in the version dropdown list. Note that it may take up to 5 minutes for the deployed changes to appear on the website due to caching.

  5. Check the version dropdown list to ensure all versions of the docs are visible and their version dropdown lists have the expected versions.

    • Versions hosted on docs.gitlab.com should show the same version options as the pre-release site.
    • Versions hosted on archives.docs.gitlab.com should only show their own version and a link back to the archives page.
      • This applies to GitLab 15.6 and later. Earlier versions might have broken links in the version dropdown list. This will eventually be resolved as the earlier versions are phased out.

  6. Share the following message in the #tw-team channel:

    :mega: The docs <version> release is complete. If you have any feedback about this release, add it to the retro thread in <this issue>.

Post-deployment checklist

After the docs release is complete:

  1. Create a release issue for the next release, and assign it to the TW who completed the release post structural check for the current milestone.
  2. Major releases only. Update OutdatedVersions.yml with the latest outdated version.
  3. Improve this checklist.

Helpful links

Edited by Ryan Lehmann